River Falls house where 3 girls were killed is pulled from real estate listing

Three sisters were found dead in this house at 2790 Morningside Ave., River Falls, on Tuesday afternoon, July 10, 2012. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

A real estate listing for the house where Aaron Schaffhausen allegedly killed his three daughters has been removed after it was learned Schaffhausen could profit from the sale.

The River Falls house where Amara, 11, Sophie, 8, and Cecilia, 5, were killed July 10 was listed by Edina Realty until the agency canceled the listing Friday, Nov. 16.

The cancellation followed a complaint by the girls' mother, Jessica Schaffhausen, who contacted the agency last week and told them her ex-husband stood to make money from the sale, said Maria Verven, a public relations consultant for the agency.

"After some further investigation we found out that Mr. Schaffhausen could potentially profit from the sale, and after receiving a request from Jessica Schaffhausen, we've chosen to cancel the listing," Verven said.

Aaron Schaffhausen (Courtesy to Pioneer Press: St. Croix County Jail)

Edina Realty listed the home, which Schaffhausen owns, after his mother contacted one of its agents, said Verven, who added that the agent did not know at the time Schaffhausen could profit from the sale.

The four-bedroom, 2,320-square-foot home was listed at one point at $229,900. The description of the home read: "Kitchen bar open to family room to enjoy the cozy fireplace. Sliding glass door open to the deck facing south. Great location on the edge of the city and overlooks the country side."

Schaffhausen is accused of killing his three daughters, who lived in the home with their mother. Investigators found the girls tucked into beds in separate bedrooms and a large amount of blood in one of the bedrooms, according to the criminal complaint.

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Schaffhausen was living in Minot, N.D., at the time and was visiting the girls while Jessica Schaffhausen was away. He allegedly called Jessica Schaffhausen after the killings and told her that he killed the girls, according to the complaint.

Schaffhausen is in the St. Croix County Jail. He stood mute at an arraignment hearing in August, effectively pleading not guilty to three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of attempted arson.

His trial is scheduled for April.

On Thursday, Jessica Schaffhausen posted to Facebook the email she reportedly sent to the Edina Realty agent who took the listing. In it, she claimed that the sale of the home could also affect his court case.

"What you may not have thought through in accepting this job is that if you do succeed in selling it that you will allow their murderer to not only benefit financially but will also disqualify him for the public defender he is using which would mean that the entire criminal trial process would be set back drastically," she wrote.

A call to Schaffhausen's public defender was not immediately returned.